Property Managers - It pays to shop around...

[bubbles]

I'm sure this is not new information, but a good reminder.

We got recommended 4 PMs when we were looking to rent out one of our places in QLD.

All from reputable agencies, all with similar services, all highly recommended from people we know/trust. We got them all out to inspect the property.

Their fees varied from 6.6%-9.7%. The rental valuation ranged from $340/week to $380/week.

The person we gelled with the most had a rate of 7.7% and said we would get $380/week, we were sceptical as most of the others had been in the $350-$360 range, this was the highest by $20 so we were prepared to have to drop the price.

It has been on the market 24 hours and has 3 applications, plus another OFI on Saturday and a lot of interest. Just made us an extra $1000!

Shop around folks - there could be money left on the table.

 

[thatbum]

Glad you picked a winner there, but the problem usually is that its hard to tell who is the better PM out of a prospective bunch of PMs.

The less you know about property management, the harder it is too.

 

[Xenia IM]

That's a great outcome bubbles.
Can I ask please, was your decision based on the fact that they appraised the rent above other agents?

 

[bubbles]

I agree 100% thatbum... I have had my fair share of shockers.

Xenia IM, no, in fact that made me nervous.

I had narrowed it down to 2/4 one I eliminated because I didn't gel with them and the other I eliminated as they were based too far from the property and I was worried about them truly knowing the market etc. (their valuation was 100% based on looking at data vs. knowing the market and they admitted this).

Of the final two the other person was lovely on the first meeting, but on the next meeting (when we were likely to sign with him) he became quite pushy and was not flexible at all with the pricing which he had misrepresented in the initial meeting. It left me with a bad taste, which is why we ended up with the person we did. I was always comfortable that she was a decent PM (based on recommendations), but thought she had oversold the value and was expecting to have to drop it if it hadn't been tenanted in the next 1-2 weeks.

 

[Xenia IM]

good, I'm breathing a sign of relief as my appraisals are fairly conservative and based on statistics. The marketing price however is usually above the appraised price at the initial marketing period because sometimes the market can be pushed higher.

Great outcome in this instance - well done.

 

[Jaggannath]

Glad you picked a winner there, but the problem usually is that its hard to tell who is the better PM out of a prospective bunch of PMs.

The less you know about property management, the harder it is too.

Yup... the true test is when the manure hits the properllor